“Nazha” as a part of traditional Chinese culture is well-known, after the broadcast of “Ne Zha” (the movie), the line “My fate lies within me, it doesn’t come from the heavens” became extremely popular on the internet.
Compared to that, Nazha Auto doesn’t have high brand awareness, but looking at the top 10 sales of new car makers in the first four months, you will find that this relatively unknown new car maker, Nazha Auto, has quietly followed the WEY EX5 in sales for their first model, Nazha N01.
However, following Nazha N01, Nazha Auto developed its second mass-produced model, Nazha U, based on the HPC new platform. Judging from the current distribution of the pure electric vehicle market, it seems that Nazha aims to compete with same-level models such as XPeng G3 and WEY EX5 for a certain market share.
But compared to XPeng and WEY, Nazha Auto’s brand recognition is not superior, so only by improving the product strength of Nazha U can they have a chance to win a certain market share.
So, what is the product strength of Nazha U?
After test driving it, I have come to a conclusion that the overall quality of Nazha U is high and the in-car system performs quite well. Besides some details that need polishing, the overall performance is good.
Next, I will take you through an understanding of Nazha U from the outside to the inside.
More personality or too aggressive?
Unlike the plain appearance of Nazha N01, it is quite obvious that Nazha U is more radical in exterior design, highlighting the designer’s intention to be different.
A car’s appearance largely determines the consumer’s purchasing decision.
Regarding the appearance of Nazha U, I did a small survey on this and found that a few people think that Nazha U’s design is too aggressive, a little too forced. However, most people recognized and appreciated this more individual appearance.
In my opinion, aesthetics varies among individuals, but the originality of Nazha U’s exterior design is worth acknowledging. In today’s frenzied automobile market, car makers who can stick to this are worthy of recognition.
Nazha U’s front and rear lights both adopt a penetrating design style, which may give people a bit of aesthetic fatigue and did not give me an astonishing feeling. However, luckily the “three-dimensional” style of the front and rear lights together give an overall impression of individuality and youthfulness.Regarding the front part, it should be noted that the IME interactive breathing light, which NETA Motors promoted, did not appear in the test drive car. NETA Motors explained that the IME interactive breathing light belongs to imported parts, which are temporarily unavailable due to the epidemic.
Next is the side of the car body. The official statement is that the black area of the hub can be replaced with different colored hub covers according to personal preference. The hub has two specifications, and the top configuration model of different cruising range versions is 19 inches, while the rest are standard with 18 inches.
The length, width, and height of the NETA U are 4530/1860/1628 mm, and the wheelbase is 2770 mm. Compared with the benchmark models XPeng G3 and WmAuto EX5, NETA U mainly has a slight advantage in wheelbase. The benefit it brings is that the rear passenger space is relatively spacious, and there is no protrusion in the center of the rear floor. In addition, the large tilt angle of the rear seats makes the overall rear passenger comfort better.
As for the interior, the NETA U has an overall simple and restrained style, retaining some frequently used physical buttons and knobs, including the automatic parking button, electronic handbrake, Autohold, driving mode switching button, kinetic energy recovery adjustment button, and air conditioning control knob. During the driving process, the air conditioning control knob provides good convenience.
In addition to these, the NETA U also retains the start button, probably considering users who are transitioning from traditional fuel vehicles to pure electric vehicles.
It should be pointed out that whether it is the 12.3-inch one-piece screen or the 8-inch air conditioning control screen, the black border is somewhat prominent, which has a certain impact on the overall texture of the interior.
The NETA U adopts a flat-bottomed and double-spoke steering wheel design, which is coordinated in design and has excellent grip. The button area on both sides of the steering wheel integrates functions such as ACC, following distance, and lane departure warning, which is convenient for blind operation.
However, due to the glossy design, the button area is prone to leaving fingerprints, which may not be friendly to users with OCD, but these are all small details.
Looking at the central control screen, the NETA U is also equipped with the “Xiaoyou Intelligent Virtual Robot”. When voice control is not activated, Xiaoyou displays the time. After voice control is activated, Xiaoyou will display different expressions according to the instructions. Xiaoyou’s addition adds a certain degree of technological sense to the interior.
However, the only drawback is that Xiaoyou is designed behind the central control screen and is partially obstructed, so its presence is not very strong when I use voice commands while driving.
After reflecting to the NETA car staff, their explanation was that they also considered other locations, but ultimately felt that this was the most suitable position.
I quite like the bucket-type front seats, which add a sense of luxury to the interior in terms of design, with high conformity and strong wrapping. The softness and hardness of the seats is moderate, and the filling is even.
However, the embarrassing thing is that the co-driver does not have electric adjustment in all models and is only four-way manually adjustable, which is somewhat unsatisfactory.
In terms of storage space, although the front storage space of the NETA U is not small, the utilization rate of the storage compartment in front of the central armrest is not high.
Because the storage compartment provides wireless charging function, for me who likes to pile up sundries here, it is a bit awkward to use wireless charging. Should I pile up sundries or use wireless charging?
In addition, the front cup holder is placed in the central hollow storage compartment, which affects the utilization of space. For example, I cannot put a pair of shoes in it.
Moreover, it is not very convenient to reach down for a water bottle if it is relatively low, and whether this action will affect driving safety is worth discussing.
The trunk space is very large and flat. After opening the trunk cover, there are multiple storage compartments below, and with the car, you can also get accessories such as on-board charging and tire repair liquid.
## Good Chassis Quality, Braking Needs Improvement
During the test drive, NETA Motors chose a route that included both high-speed and suburban driving. It is evident that the high-speed route does not favor endurance, and the fact that NETA chose this route shows their confidence in their vehicle’s high-speed endurance capability.
In fact, based on rough records (for reference only), the test drive model was the 520 NEDC extended range version, and the temperature on the test day was 28 ℃, with the air conditioning set to 20 ℃, 1st gear and 4 passengers in the vehicle. Nearly 4/5 of the route was on the highway. After driving for 56 km, the displayed power dropped by 110 km, with a power drop ratio of 1:1.964.
Currently, NETA U only offers ACC and lane departure warning functions. LKA was not experienced during the test drive since it is not yet equipped on the vehicle. When asked, NETA staff stated that the reason why LKA is not yet equipped is that the safety driving mileage standard has not yet been reached.
It should be pointed out that after the front vehicle stops, there is slight shaking in the braking of NETA U’s ACC system. This is more obvious during acceleration and braking tests over longer distances.
Regarding NVH, before reaching 100 km/h, NETA U performs well in terms of suppressing tire and wind noise. Perhaps due to the quietness, the atmosphere in the car with four people was slightly awkward. I used this opportunity to start a conversation with the three people about NVH performance.
However, after the speed exceeds 100 km/h, wind noise gradually becomes evident, until it reaches its maximum at 120 km/h. For me, the overall NVH performance of NETA U is acceptable.
The NETA U chassis structure consists of a front MacPherson strut and rear multi-link suspension, which is a common hardware structure among vehicles in the same category. However, whether the experience is good or not depends on tuning.
The actual driving experience shows that the NETA U chassis has good overall filtering for small and large bumps, and there is no unnecessary bouncing. At the same time, it is also very resilient and gives a solid feeling.
In terms of power, let’s first talk about the specifications. The NETA U is equipped with a permanent magnet synchronous motor, with a maximum power of 150 kW and a maximum torque of 310 N·m, but the power is not considered strong. The power mode has three adjustable levels: ECO, COMFORT, and SPORT.
In SPORT mode, the throttle response is timely, and the actual power output is stronger than I expected. When deeply pressed, it brings a strong sense of acceleration, and daily acceleration and overtaking are very easy.
However, it should be noted that when the throttle is pressed deeply, the front tires are easy to slip, so the direction needs to be carefully controlled.
COMFORT mode is gentler than SPORT mode, with obvious differences in the front part of the accelerator pedal. However, the response is still sufficient when deeply pressed, and the front tires are also prone to slipping.
Compared with COMFORT and SPORT modes, ECO is much gentler, and there is no slipping phenomenon when the throttle is deeply pressed. However, the response is much slower.
Overall, the differences between the three modes are quite obvious, and different driving modes can be adjusted according to personal preferences.
Next is the steering section. The steering wheel’s returning force and damping are moderate, not bad, but also not very good. One word to describe it is “enough”.
Considering the positioning and price of the NETA U, I think this is acceptable and will not make people feel uncomfortable.
Finally, let’s talk about the brakes and kinetic energy recovery. The NETA U’s brakes can only be described as “difficult to use”. The brake pedal has a large rebound force, with almost 1/3 of the front part being imaginary, and it is difficult to control the braking force.
This makes it difficult to control in stop-and-go city driving, and is especially unfriendly to women.
During the test drive, I gave feedback to NETA’s staff about the braking issue. They and their engineers have noticed this issue during the first batch of test drives and hope to further optimize it in the future.
As for the kinetic energy recovery, although the power recovery has three adjustable levels, my actual experience is “weak, relatively weak, and very weak”. My suggestion is to provide a high-power recovery gear for users to choose from.
Infotainment System: Looks average, but works fine.For the car entertainment system of this price range, I wasn’t expecting much, especially after seeing its simple and somewhat cheap UI design and the large black border of the central control panel screen. However, after actually experiencing it, I dispelled this idea.
As mentioned earlier, the NETA U’s car entertainment system hardware consists of dual 12.3-inch integrated screens and an 8-inch air-conditioning control screen.
Starting with the 12.3-inch display in front of the steering wheel, it mainly displays vehicle status and conventional instrument cluster information. During navigation mode, the lower section of the instrument panel displays navigation information. The overall logic is clear and concise.
Looking at the central control panel screen, the NETA U integrates vehicle settings, multimedia, voice system, navigation system, and more into this touch screen. The overall logic is also very clear.
The bottom DOCK bar of the screen is composed of map, QQ music, radio, telephone, homepage, TikTok, Tencent video, personal center, and vehicle settings.
The car entertainment system is easy to use because there are basically no hidden features. In most cases, relevant functions can be accessed in two levels. This is very user-friendly during driving.
In terms of functionality, the NETA U is integrated with Gaode Maps, a simplified version of the mobile Gaode Maps. Several useful features of the mobile Gaode Maps can be realized on the car entertainment system’s map, such as the “home” and “company” shortcuts and entering the license plate number to avoid restrictions, which I frequently use in normal situations.
As a result, I basically don’t need to use mobile navigation while driving, and the car entertainment system’s navigation can fully meet my needs. In addition, the “toolbox” column of the map also supports WeChat connectivity (sending positions to the car), team formation (sharing location information), and other functions. This is very user-friendly.
After entering the keyword “charging station” in the search bar, you can also quickly find nearby charging stations through the map, which is very convenient to use.
QQ Music is used for music, but logging in is required before use, and scanning the code on WeChat and QQ is available on both mobile apps.
What’s interesting is that the NETA U is integrated with the landscape mode of Douyin, and it can automatically flip the page after the video is played without manual paging. Of course, if you don’t find the video attractive enough, manual paging is also feasible. Sitting in the car and browsing Douyin while waiting for someone or charging the car is also a good experience.
It should be noted that Douyin cannot be played while driving, which is for safety considerations.
In addition, the voice interaction of the NETA U left me with a good impression. First of all, the voice recognition rate of the NETA U is relatively high, and the overall response speed is also remarkable, and it supports the recognition of the driver and passenger positions.
During the use, I communicated with XiaoYou, the built-in voice assistant, in three different languages: Mandarin, Guizhou dialect, and English. Except for some dialects that are difficult for ordinary people to understand, in most cases, NETA U can recognize them.
Secondly, after entering the QQ Music and radio interface, the voice interaction supports wake-up-free function. Here, you can call “Xiaoyou Xiaoyou” to enter music or radio, and then directly say “previous song” or “next song” to switch music or FM frequency modulation.
However, it is a pity that Douyin does not support wake-up-free function. The NETA team said that it can be achieved through OTA if there is high user demand in the future.
In daily driving, if the car functions can be controlled through voice interaction, it is not only convenient, but also reduces driving safety risks.
However, the functions that Xiaoyou can currently control are not many, and occasionally there are issues when controlling the windows in which they only close halfway. NETA Auto hopes to further optimize Xiaoyou’s user experience in the future.
Finally, there is the 8-inch air conditioning control screen, which mainly controls the regular air conditioning functions, as well as incorporating “scenes” and in-car PM2.5 functions.
In terms of air conditioning control, I prefer physical knobs to control the air volume and temperature. The reason is that the screen reflects in bright light outside the car, making it difficult to see clearly sometimes.
Next is the scene function, which provides “dynamic” and “romantic” modes. Choosing different modes will play music of different styles.
To sum up the experience of NETA U’s car machine, there is basically no delay or lag, the voice recognition rate is high, and the response speed is fast. Even novices who don’t understand car machines can quickly get started. Although the UI design is relatively simple, the overall experience is good. In addition, the autoplay function of Douyin is highly praised.
In conclusion
NETA U is a car model with a personalized design, which looks small but is not cramped to sit in and has a good car machine user experience. However, some basic quality of the car body needs further optimization, such as brakes, which is the most unbearable for me.
At the same time, I am also looking forward to the PIVOT smart driving package, which will be released soon. After experiencing it, I will further explain my feelings to everyone.
There has never been a lack of rivals within 200,000 yuan, so whether NETA U can carve out its own territory in this price range depends on its market performance, which will be verified by the market.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.